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Monday, May 19, 2014

19/05/14: FAO Report highlights growing role of fish in feeding the world

More people
than ever before rely on fisheries and aquaculture for food and as a source of
income, but harmful practices and poor management threaten the sector’s
sustainability, says a new FAO report published today.

The rapid
expansion of aquaculture, including the activities of small-scale farmers, is
driving this growth in production.

Fish farming
holds tremendous promise in responding to surging demand for food which is
taking place due to global population growth, the report says.

At the same
time, the planet's oceans – if sustainably managed – have an important role to
play in providing jobs and feeding the world, according to FAO's report.

“The health of
our planet as well as our own health and future food security all hinge on how
we treat the blue world,” FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said. “We
need to ensure that environmental well-being is compatible with human
well-being in order to make long-term sustainable prosperity a reality for all.
For this reason, FAO is committed to promoting 'Blue Growth,' which is based on
the sustainable and responsible management of our aquatic resources.”

The renewed
focus on the so-called “blue world” comes as the share of fisheries production
used by humans for food has increased from about 70 percent in the 1980s to a
record high of more than 85 percent (136 million tonnes) in 2012.

At the same
time per capita fish consumption has soared from 10 kg in the 1960s to more
than 19 kg in 2012.

The new report
also says fish now accounts for almost 17 percent of the global population’s
intake of protein -- in some coastal and island countries it can top 70
percent.

FAO estimates
that fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of 10–12 percent of the
world’s population.

Since 1990
employment in the sector has grown at a faster rate than the world’s population
and in 2012 provided jobs for some 60 million people engaged in capture
fisheries and aquaculture. Of these, 84 percent were employed in Asia, followed
by Africa with about 10 percent.

Capture
fisheries stable, aquaculture boom continues

Global marine
capture fishery production was stable at about 80 million tonnes in 2012, the
new report indicates.

Currently,
under 30 percent of the wild fish stocks regularly monitored by FAO are
overfished – a reversal in trend observed during the past few years, a positive
sign in the right direction.

Just over 70
percent are being fished within biologically sustainable levels. Of these,
fully fished stocks – meaning those at or very close to their maximum
sustainable production – account for over 60 percent and underfished stocks
about 10 percent.

Global
aquaculture production marked a record high of more than 90 million tonnes in
2012, including almost 24 million tonnes of aquatic plants. China accounted for
over 60 percent of the total share.

Aquaculture’s
expansion helps improve the diets of many people, especially in poor rural
areas where the presence of essential nutrients in food is often scarce.

However, the
report warns that to continue to grow sustainably, aquaculture needs to become
less dependent on wild fish for feeds and introduce greater diversity in farmed
culture species and practices.

For example,
small-sized species can be an excellent source of essential minerals when
consumed whole. However, consumer preferences and other factors have seen a
switch towards larger farmed species whose bones and heads are often discarded.

The role of
fish is set to feature prominently at the Second International Conference on
Nutrition jointly organized by FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) for
19–21 November 2014 in Rome.

Fish remains
among the most traded food commodities worldwide, worth almost $130 billion in
2012 – a figure which likely will continue to increase.

An important
trend sees developing countries boosting their share in the fishery trade – 54
percent of total fishery exports by value in 2012 and more than 60 percent by
quantity (live weight).

This means
fisheries and fish farming are playing an increasingly critical role for many
local economies. Some 90 percent of fishers are small scale and it is estimated
that, overall, 15 percent are women. In secondary activities such as
processing, this figure can be as high as 90 percent.

FAO, through
the 2014 International Year of Family Farming, is raising the profile of
smallholder activities – including fisheries and aquaculture – with an emphasis
on improving access to finance and markets, securing tenure rights and
protecting the environment. Reducing wastage, curbing harmful practices,
improving traceability

An estimated
1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost per year -- to about one-third of all food
produced. This figure includes post-harvest fish losses, which tend to be
greater in small-scale fisheries.

In small-scale
fisheries, quality losses are often far more significant than physical losses.
Improved handling, processing and value-addition methods could address the
technical aspects of this issue, but it is also vital to extend good practices,
build partnerships, raise awareness, and develop capacity and relevant policies
and strategies.

The report
also notes that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a
major threat to marine ecosystems and also impacts negatively on livelihoods,
local economies and food supplies.

Food chain
traceability is increasingly a requirement in major fish markets, especially in
the wake of recent scandals involving the mislabelling of food products. FAO
provides technical guidelines on certification and ecolabelling which can help
producers demonstrate that fish has been caught legally from a sustainably
managed fishery or produced in properly run aquaculture facility.

In particular,
the report stresses the importance of the Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries which, since its adoption almost two decades ago, remains
key to achieving sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. The Code promotes the
responsible use of aquatic resources and habitat conservation to help boost the
sector’s contribution to food security, poverty alleviation and human well-being.

FAO is also
promoting “Blue Growth” as a framework for ensuring sustainable and
socioeconomically-sensitive management of oceans and wetlands.

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